Top Token Booksellers

Eight bookstores are top sellers of Booksellers Tokens in this country, four independent book stores: University Bookshop Otago, University Bookshop Auckland, Books A Plenty and Page and Blackmore. Four are from the PaperPlus group: PaperPlus Merivale, Take Note Pukekohe, PaperPlus Coastlands and PaperPlus Masterton.

What makes them so successful?
There’s no magic bullet,” says Books A Plenty’s Warren Baskett.

In the case of the two university bookshops, the secret may be in the property sales mantra ‘location’. University of Otago Bookshop’s Bill Noble says their sales are a reflection of their size as a large stand alone bookstore in Dunedin. Plus the University of Otago buys a sizeable quantity as student prizes each year, insisting on Booksellers Tokens because of their universal acceptance. In the same privileged position is University Bookshop Auckland with university departments buying tokens for presentations, as thanks for survey participants and leaving gifts says company manager Amber Luxton.

Books A Plenty sell only Booksellers Tokens. School prizegivings generate business and they have had corporate orders for staff rewards. Baskett notices a lot of trade in Booksellers Tokens as gifts for grandchildren living in other centres, easier than choosing, packing and posting books. Key for store owners Warren and Chris Basskett is always having good stocks of all Booksellers Tokens.

Page and Blackmore’s Tim Blackmore advises “talk to local schools about prizegiving.” The Nelson store did just that and gained a good size token order from one school. Anecdotally Tim’s impression is that Booksellers Token sales are moving well this season.

Take Note Pukekohe’s Abe Kloeten also gives strong school sales and corporate sales as part of the reason his store does good Booksellers Token trade. He also believes customers are still geared to the “face value” printed tokens and the wide acceptability of Booksellers Tokens is important to the buying public.

Like other PaperPlus stores, Russell Carthew in Masterton offers Paper Plus electronically loaded plastic cards alongside Booksellers Tokens. His customer preference runs 50/50 for plastic and conventional Booksellers Tokens. If the gift is for in-town use, plastic is the choice, but his older more conservative clientele prefer the security of the traditional token and the fact it can be redeemed in more stores.

•    Strong booksellers also have sizeable Booksellers Token business
•    Search for school prizegiving and corporate gift opportunities in your area
•    Ensure Booksellers Tokens are well displayed
•    Number one essential: Carry big stocks in all denominations and never, ever, run out.